Too early to start talking about rare/valuable Wii games?

[samsonlonghair]

I know we are discussing which ones are rare, but what would people say are the top 5 rarest based off the info we currently know. I'm not talking about most valuable or sought after but rather which 5 games do each of you believe had the smallest print run or which 5 currently has the least amount available?

The problem is that it's notoriously hard to get solid numbers on print runs of video games. Even in cases where we can find print run numbers for games, that does not necessarily mean that all pressed discs were sold. Different regions measure this differently. Different companies exaggerate their success to different degrees. The point is, seeking out reliable data to determine how many copies of a certain game exist is a frustrating task.

For example: Is Metroid Prime Trilogy rare? Almost certainly not. It's been reprinted, and multiple overpriced copies are available at every gamestop in America. Is the original steelbook version rare? Yes, but how rare? We don't know the exact number available. Considering that Metroid Prime Trilogy is coming to the eshop in a matter of days, does the availability even matter? Probably not as much as before.

[Exhuminator]

It would be interesting to know what the truly rarest Wii games are.

I think in my own collection these are the rarest I own:

[Spidrmnky]

I know we are discussing which ones are rare, but what would people say are the top 5 rarest based off the info we currently know. I'm not talking about most valuable or sought after but rather which 5 games do each of you believe had the smallest print run or which 5 currently has the least amount available?

The problem is that it's notoriously hard to get solid numbers on print runs of video games. Even in cases where we can find print run numbers for games, that does not necessarily mean that all pressed discs were sold. Different regions measure this differently. Different companies exaggerate their success to different degrees. The point is, seeking out reliable data to determine how many copies of a certain game exist is a frustrating task.

For example: Is Metroid Prime Trilogy rare? Almost certainly not. It's been reprinted, and multiple overpriced copies are available at every gamestop in America. Is the original steelbook version rare? Yes, but how rare? We don't know the exact number available. Considering that Metroid Prime Trilogy is coming to the eshop in a matter of days, does the availability even matter? Probably not as much as before.

There obviously is not a right or wrong answer when discussing this topic and I get what you are saying, but I think we can at least have a conversation with our own experiences such as seeing games in the wild, data we've gathered online, etc...

For example, I think American Mensa Academy and Mr. Bean's Wacky World are among the rarest in North America. Obviously, I don't have any hard facts to back this up, but I can look at data such as how many copies are available on eBay, how many have sold, how many I've seen in the wild, and sales figures (though these are typically not that accurate online).

I wouldn't consider Metroid Prime Trilogy to be rare in the same way that the 2 I mentioned above are. Before the reprint it may be rare in the sense that demand exceeded supply, but overall there were far more copies printed of even the original Metroid Prime Trilogy that it wouldn't come close to the top 5 rarest Wii games, IMO. It was just highly sought after, which drove prices up since there wasn't many copies available to purchase and the ones that were available had several people lining up to buy them.

Edit: I should have distinguished that some sales figures that can be found online are not always accurate rather than generalize that all online figures aren't accurate. There are some that are accurate and even come directly from Publishers where others aren't so accurate.

[samsonlonghair]

Far be it for me to stifle discussion, but I've gone hunting for numbers before. Even the numbers straight from publishers are unreliable. Oftentimes publishers give numbers to please investors rather than to properly archive accurate data for future reference.

I'm not trying to be a downer exactly. If you say that American Mensa Academy and Mr. Bean's Wacky World are rare, I believe you. I do find the topic worthy of discussion; I don't mean to come across as dismissive. I'm just pointing out an inevitable shortcoming.

[Spidrmnky]

Far be it for me to stifle discussion, but I've gone hunting for numbers before. Even the numbers straight from publishers are unreliable. Oftentimes publishers give numbers to please investors rather than to properly archive accurate data for future reference.

I'm not trying to be a downer exactly. If you say that American Mensa Academy and Mr. Bean's Wacky World are rare, I believe you. I do find the topic worthy of discussion; I don't mean to come across as dismissive. I'm just pointing out an inevitable shortcoming.

You make valid points and of course it should all be taken with a grain of salt. Numbers are definitely skewed at times. Still, while discussing the various rare titles I'd like to get a sense of what others feel is the rarest Wii title.

For most other systems that are now discontinued we have a fairly good sense of the rarest games. I'm just trying to get a sense of the ones that others feel are among the rarest of the rare on Wii.

I should also add that it doesn't have to be top 5 either. Just some that are extremely rare. Seems like a way to spark further discussion as well though it's good to note that these aren't facts or set in stone, as you point out.

[casterofdreams]

Speaking of disclosing numbers sold I vaguely remember Nintendo throwing numbers on their annual report.

[Spidrmnky]

Speaking of disclosing numbers sold I vaguely remember Nintendo throwing numbers on their annual report.

Yea, some Publishers do release numbers to investors and in PR statements. There can still be some problems with the numbers they release. Publishers are also known to "spin" the numbers to make it look better to investors.

For example, they may not break down the numbers sold by region, which makes it difficult to know if the game is rare in one area. Another example would be not disclosing whether the numbers they provided are "Sold to actual consumers" or "Shipped". As you can imagine there is a huge difference in shipped versus sold to customers. For current gen, the numbers may include both Digital and Physical combined, making it difficult to establish how many Physical copies are available.

On top of that, the rare games are more likely to not have any information released on sales number or inaccurate numbers released since the Publishers aren't going to want to admit that the game sold poorly.

[FerretGamer]

I picked up an interesting release recently from Amazon warehouse deals.



I haven't seen this game cheaper than about $25 anywhere so I was pretty happy to snag it for $13 and change even though it doesn't have the outer packaging. The guns are kind of lame and I still prefer the perfect shot. However, the game supports 4 players at once (or 2 players dual wield) so they will still get some use.

[Spidrmnky]

I picked up an interesting release recently from Amazon warehouse deals.



I haven't seen this game cheaper than about $25 anywhere so I was pretty happy to snag it for $13 and change even though it doesn't have the outer packaging. The guns are kind of lame and I still prefer the perfect shot. However, the game supports 4 players at once (or 2 players dual wield) so they will still get some use.

Pretty solid purchase for $13. I still need to grab me a copy of that one.

My most recent Wii purchases were Dr. Fizzwizzle new for $10 and Maximum Racing: Super Truck Racer complete for $9.

[Exhuminator]

However, the game supports 4 players at once (or 2 players dual wield) so they will still get some use.

I actually beat this game a few years ago via 3 player co-op. It was -OK- but definitely not up there with the top tier point and shoots on Wii. Just don't get your hopes too high and you should have an alright evening with it. Game's also really short too.